Thermally-controlled valve.



W. H. PAINE.

THERMALLY CONTROLLED VALVE.

APPLICATION FILED IAN.22, I9I4.

Patented June 8, 1915.

Unirse s'rA s WILLIAM HOWARD P'AINE,OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOB TO FIRE ?REVENT1ON COMIAN, A. CORPORATION OF RHODE ISLAND.

rHenMALLY-.coursomen VALVE.

Specicatiou of Letters Patent.

'Patented June 8, 1915.

Application filed January 22, 1914. Serial No. 813,816.

T0 QZZ whom it may; concern Be it lmoivn that I, lVrLLrAM Housse PAINE, e citizen of the il'nitecl States, and resident of the city of Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and ,useful lmprovoments in Thermalily-Controlled Valves, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to thermally con trolled valves and has for its object to provide a valve of this character that is adapted to be comiected in a line of pipe espeeielly for conducting highly iniamma-ble and explosive fluids such es gasolene, illuminating gas and the like, the valve comprising a body portion'with e closure operatively mounted therein and 'normally held in open posi-tion by a. thermal element in opposition to the tension of e spring. As is well known by those skilled in the art a device of this character must be sensitive and free in its operation, so that evenv after remaining for a long time without action it will immediately und positively operate as soon as the link is meltedn It is found .in practice that a packing about the stem of an automatically operating valve is not a prac-- tical construction, particularly when the packing is subjected to the deteriorating ao tion of gases, es the naturel 'oorroding or roughening of the stein and the disintegrating or sottening of the packing, due tothe action of ges upon it, causes the someto cling about the rougheuefl valve stem and Se prevent effective action et the time when needed. To obviate this very serious and vital diliieulty in valves of this character, l'. have provided e diaphragm Whioh is mede gas-tight and through which the .valve is oonneoted'to the thermal elementh By this construction the uncertainty of notion is,

positively removed as thediaphragm is free at all times no matter hof/vloog it has been setting. and will Without resistance perinit the valve or closure to onse move to its the thermal elevie-W, the iam novel.

be more fr my improved thermally controlled automatic valve showing the same as held in open position by the thermal element in opposition to the spring pressure. Fig. 2- is a central sectional end view through the yoke, diaphragm and upper portion of the valve cap showing the thermal element as having been ruptured and parted and the position of the diaphra 'when the valve has moved to closed position. Fig. 3- shows the roteeting plate which is located over the diaphragm and to which the yoke is connected. Fig. 4 is e plan view of the dia.- phragm. tion of the same.

Referring to the drawing, 10 designates the body portion of the valve which may be of the ordinary globe type with the inlet at 11 and the outlet at 12;'the opening through the bridve being at 13. I have shown a cap 14 as being threaded at 15 to this body, the upper portion of the cap being enlarged and threaded es et 16 on. its outer edge to receive a` clamping collar 17. The inner portion of this cap is recessed as at 18 topermit the in- Ward stroke of the diaphragm 19. This diephregm is preferably constructed of thin sheet metal. and oircularly corrugated at 20 to admit of e suiiioient movement to permit the valve orv closure to freely move from open to closed positionf'lhe plate 21, see Fig. 3., has its center portion 22 removed and its periphery is adapted to rest upon the outer edgeo'f the diaphragm to serve as n stil'enin thrust o the binding collar 17 when clamping the Whole together. This plete is provided with e slot 23 VAon either side through which the shouldered ends 24 of the yolre are passed and rivedfor the .purpose of supporting the yoke in an upright position. The upper portion of this yoke is' bent in- Werd as et 26 and the bent-in portion has a slot 29 to permit the upper end?? of the link to therethrough, which linh is locked in position `to the yoke by the poss ing of pin 28 through its eye 30 to rest in seid recessed portion ofthe yoke.

The upper portion the link is secured .to the low r portion 3l thereof by solder ined in the large opening 232 which l lspted to melt or fuse et s very' erezure. desired e number of oiiuinn's Fig. 5 is. a. sectional side elevzh support and 'receive the direct be provided in the ng the mein opening 32 to receive solder in order to effect a more rigid oonnection between the two portions of the link. This is clearly shown in Fig. 1.Y The lower end of this link is also provided with an eye 33 which is engaged by the hook The lower end of this hook is threaded as at 35 and is screwed into the upper end of the valve stem 3G. A lock nut 37 is employed for binding, locking and securing the end of the valve stem to the diaphragm whereby the passing of the stem of the valve through the diaphragm is made gas tight whether the closure is in open or closed position;

.The lower end'of the valve or closure 37 itself, is preferably made tapering so as to t tightly into its seat when engaging the same, and a spring 88 is coiled about the stem in a recess in the cap, its upper end engaging the shoulder 39 in the recess and its lower end resting noon the head of the closure.

In assembling a valve of my improved construction the closure is placed Within the cap with its stem extending through the opening therein. The shank of the hook 34 is then passed through the opening 40 in the diaphragm and screwed into the end of the' valve stem. 'The locking nut is then set, up firmly making a tight joint to close this opening 40 in the diaphragm. The yoke, with its plate, is then positioned and the fuse link connected, raising the closure to its open position against the pressure of the spring. It is only necessary now to screw the binding collar 17 tightly down over the plate and the wholeof the automatic structure is assembled. The body of the valve is now connected'to the cap andthe whole is complete, making a device which is positive in its operation and which is sure to act as soon as the heat is applied to the fuse link no matter how long the valve has been in position without having been operated.

I claim: A

1. A thermally controlled valve comprising a valve casing, a cap removably secured to said casing, a diaphragm forming a closure for said cap, a reinforcing plate mounted upon said diaphragm, a yoke supported by said plate above said diaphragm,

a locking ring for securingsaid diaphragm,

reinforcing ring and .yoke rigidly-to said cap, a valve in said casing, said valve having a stem passing' through said cap and said diaphragimmeans for rigidly securing said diaphragm to said valve stem, means for saidslots, a lockin closing said valve, and a fusible link secured to said yoke and said valve stem for normally holding said valve in open position.

2. A thermally controlledvglyecomprising a valve casing, a capilremovably secured to said casing, av diaphragm ,closing said cap, a reinforcing plate disposed upon said diaphragm, said plate being provided with slots at its opposite edges, a yoke supported by said plate and having its ends disposed l ring for securing Said plate, yoke and diaphragm rigidly to said cap, a valve in said casing, said valve having a stem extendingthrough said cap and said diaphragm, means for securing said diaphragm rigidly to said stem, means for closing said valve, and a fusible link' connecting said yoke and said stem for holding said valve normally' in open position.

3. A thermally controlled valve compris- ,ing a valve casing, a cap removably secured to said casing, a diaphragm closingsaid cap, a yoke supported by said cap, a locking ring for detachably connecting said yoke and diaphragm to said cap, a valve disposed in said casing and having a stem eX- tending through said cap and diaphragm, means for securing said diaphragm rigidly to said stem, a hook removably secured to the inner end of said stem, means for clos ing said valve, and a fusible link connected at one end to said yoke and its opposite end to said hook for holding said valve normally in open position.

4. A thermally controlled valve comprising a valve casing, a cap removably secured to said casing, a diaphragm closing said cap, a yoke supported by said cap, a locking ring for removably securing said yoke and diaphragm to said cap, the upper end of said yoke being slotted, a valvein said casing having a stem extending through Said *capi WILLIAM HOWVARD PAINE.

Witnesses:

HOWARD E. BARLOW, E. I. OGDEN. 

